Training session benefits eagles and ospreys

Five NYSEG personnel from Norwich recently conducted a training session when they erected a used 60-foot power pole in a marsh owned by Gary and Bonnie Will of Hamilton.

Five NYSEG personnel from Norwich recently conducted a training session when they erected a used 60-foot power pole in a marsh owned by Gary and Bonnie Will of Hamilton. On top of the pole is a nesting platform that could accommodate a pair of ospreys or bald eagles for years to come.
Besides the benefits afforded to future nesting habitat for these birds of prey, the linemen received practice in winter construction work. Drilling an 8 1/2-foot hole for a long power pole is not easy during the dead of winter.
Employees with experience shared their knowledge and a large tracked vehicle was used to traverse the frozen wetland and set the pole. Tom Ryan, a line construction supervisor for NYSEG, said the training was an excellent experience.
“This is a great addition to the marsh and we hope the birds, which ever species will find it and use it,” said Gary.
“We also expect many other adults and children will have an opportunity to observe these birds of prey as they float the West Chenango River and travel the River Road [Madison County Route 73] corridor between Earlville and Randallsville,” added Bonnie.
The Wills, who have been managing the 40-acre marsh for more than 20 years, have worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Hamilton over the past two decades to develop the 43-acre wetland. This wetland was drained in the 1940s, however was never very good pasture or cropland, according to previous landowners.
In 1991, the owners received a grant to construct a 600-foot berm that runs from the River Road almost to the river shoreline. Since then three potholes and additional berms have been put in place. The purpose of the berms is to slow the water, which benefits downstream flood control.
Water left in the marsh during summer has also eliminated some of the vegetation and that, according to Gary, has helped a lengthy list of wild animals. Perhaps waterfowl have benefited the most as they migrate north and south during the year. Both ospreys and eagles were observed on a regular basis over the past couple of years in the area.
“There is a great deal of satisfaction when you can restore and enhance a wild piece of property,” agreed the Wills.

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